Appearances Can Be Deceiving
by Metropolis Kid
Summary: One-shot. While Integra's out of the country, Seras finds something very unexpected in her master's chamber. Is it true that, "While the cat's away, the mice will play."... or is something else going on?


**Appearances Can Be Deceiving**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any material contained within this story. All copyrighted content remains the property of the person, people, or organization that holds the copyright. This story is solely for fun.

**AN:** Well, I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one... But isn't that part of the point of posting things on public sites, that you can get second (third, forth...) opinions? Anyway, I hope some of you enjoy this one-shot. WARNING: While this one-shot does not contain any actual rape scenes, rape is a very present element.

* * *

It was early morning when Seras headed to her master's chamber. It was late for her, and the sun would be rising within the next couple of hours, forcing her to her coffin. But first she wanted to sort of 'check in' with her master.

Seras hadn't seen him in days, not since Sir Integra left to attend a meeting in Switzerland. It was the first modern attempt to gather the heads of each country's bureau of supernatural affairs. The idea was that by working together and sharing information everyone would be better prepared to defend mankind against its immortal enemies.

The meeting sounded good on paper, but of course getting so many driven, stubborn and temperamental 'A-type' people to actually trust one another and work together was... difficult at best. Always the questions persisted of where the other people's sincerity ended and attempted manipulation took over; and just how much information could one share without exposing any of their own vulnerabilities? For example, Integra certainly didn't want any of the other organization heads knowing about her pets' little, seed obsession.

So, the meeting, which was suppose to be a mere formality, over in a couple of hours, dragged on a full day, and then two, three... And all the while her pets were confined to the Hellsing mansion and surrounding grounds. Integra obviously didn't trust the vampires to roam the English countryside without her there to hold their leashes.

Still, it was strange that Seras hadn't seen her master in days, and that concerned her a little. Confinement to the mansion and grounds did not mean confinement to his chamber. Why hadn't she seen him out and about, scaring the shit out of new recruits and harassing her with those thinly veiled innuendos that she blushed and bristled at, yet secretly enjoyed? What could he be doing in that chamber?

As Seras neared her master's door, every step seemed to wash away a little bit more of the fledgling's courage. She still wasn't sure how he'd react to her intruding, coming to his chamber unbidden. Twice she nearly turned back. But, living up to her one-time nickname, the kitten's curiosity got the better of her both times, and she pressed on.

Reaching the door, Seras knocked lightly. When no answer came, she knocked louder. And when her near pounding was still ignored, she decided to chance a peak inside.

Seras carefully and slowly opened the door till a thin crack of light streamed through. And it was then that the vampire fledgling heard something which surprised her very much. She heard soft weeping.

Seras's brow furrowed, and she pushed the door open a little more. She stuck her head through, looked around and could hardly believe what she saw. There in her master's chamber sat a young girl, crying into her hands.

The girl couldn't have been more than fifteen, perhaps even younger. She wore a white dress, though it was torn, blood stained and looked as if it might fall apart completely at any moment. Her hair was black as night; and as she – seeming only now becoming aware of Seras's presence – raised her head, the fledgling saw that the young girl's eyes were red as sin.

"Dear Lord, what... what happened to you?" Seras asked the young girl who's eyes she recognized as those belonging to a vampire. But the girl did not reply. She simply stared up at Seras, wide eyed, her face holding a look of detached shock.

Seras's heart ached for the girl. She crouched down and reached for her, but the young girl recoiled away from the 'human' contact. "No, please?" she wined.

And Seras knew what had happened. Her master, the 'man' she looked up to, had found this girl and been raping her repeatedly since his own master's departure! How could he do such a thing?! Truly, he was more of a monster than she'd ever suspected. How had he even gotten a hold of the girl? Integra had confined him to the mansion and grounds, a confinement which, at the time, Seras thought was unnecessary and overly cautious.

But now she understood why her master's master had done it. Clearly, he could not be trusted without her around. Anyone who would do what he'd done was a wild animal, not a 'man' at all. Yet questions still remained, how had he gotten a hold of the girl? Had she wandered onto the mansion grounds? Was she a vampire already, or had he turned her before... 'deflowering' her? If she was a vampire, had she come to attack them? Is that why her master did... what he did? Was it some kind of retaliation?

Seras shook her head. Even if it was, it was still unforgivable. And this girl, this small weeping thing, hardly seemed the type to threaten or attack Integra's organization.

"Are... are you okay?" Seras asked and then mentally kicked herself. What a stupid question, of course the traumatized girl wasn't okay! "What happened to you?" she repeated and kicked herself again. It was obvious what had happened to the girl, but the fledgling couldn't think of anything else to say.

The girl seemed to calm, slightly. "You... you're not going to hurt me?" she asked with a trembling lip.

"No!" Seras stated with more force than intended and realized her mistake as the girl flinched. "I-I'm here to help you," the fledgling continued in a quiet, demur tone.

"Please! Please, don't let him touch me again," the girl pleaded.

"Don't worry; you're safe now. I won't let him get near you," Seras replied, and it was the truth. She wasn't sure if she could actually prevent it. In fact she rather doubted it. Her master was significantly stronger than her; and if he really wanted to, he could take the girl from her. But she would not _let_ him, and he would have to kill her if he came for the girl. And Seras doubted he would go that far... though after seeing what he'd apparently already done, she wasn't sure. She wasn't sure of anything anymore, nothing except for the fact that this girl had been abused, violated in the most heinous ways imaginable, her body and perhaps even her very soul taken from her by force, and that she needed someone to keep it from continuing.

"You're safe with me," Seras reassured as she flashed the young girl the warmest smile she could manage, given the circumstances, and held out her hand.

And, after a moment of hesitation, the young girl finally took the offered hand. She let Seras lead her out of the dark chamber and back to the fledgling's own room.

Seras took out a pair of clean pajamas and handed them to the girl, then she pointed to the bathroom attached to her chamber. "You can clean yourself up... if you like." The child seemed frightened by the idea of leaving Seras's side and the fledgling was quick to add, "I-I can come in with you, if you want?"

The girl hesitated, then nodded. And Seras followed her in. The girl washed herself, and Seras's presence seemed to reassure her enough to keep the shower curtain drawn.

The whole time Seras thought about the girl and about her master. How could he have done such a thing... and where was he now? He couldn't leave the mansion grounds; he had to be around somewhere. And what would he do when he discovered she'd taken away his new 'plaything'? For that matter, what would happen when Integra returned? Somehow Seras doubted that the knight would just let the vampire child roam free. But how could she force the girl to stay at the mansion after what Alucard master had done?

Or would her master's master be even harsher and call for the young girl's destruction? No, Seras doubted that. She knew that Integra could be... cold at times, yet she doubted that the knight was _that_ heartless. Though, perhaps that would actually be kinder than forcing the girl to live with the monster who'd abused her like that?

Or maybe Integra would have Alucard locked up? Once again, Seras doubted it. She knew that she was still too weak to fill the role of Hellsing's 'trump card', and Integra would not surrender her ace in the whole without another to replace him.

As Seras heard the water shut off and saw the young girl's arm reaching out for a towel, she once again shook her head. She'd worry about Integra later. For now, she'd deal with what she could.

The sun was beginning its rise as the young girl finished putting on the oversized pajamas, and Seras felt her strength and energy starting to wane. She needed to rest in her coffin; but as the young vampire let out a yawn, Seras realized that _she_ needed to rest too.

Seras wondered how exactly that was going to work out. The coffin was fairly small. She figured she could fit the girl in with her without too much of a problem. But they'd have to lay right up against each other, and she wasn't sure how the young girl would react to such closeness after what she'd been through.

However, to Seras's surprise, her concerns were unfounded. The young vampire crawled into the coffin on her own; and then, as Seras started to lower the lid, the girl whimpered. Seras paused and the girl cried, "Please? I-I'm scared. Don't... don't leave me. Don't let him get me again."

"Don't worry. You're safe," Seras reassured once more as she crawled into the coffin beside the young girl.

And there, lying in that dark casket with Seras's arms wrapped securely, protectively around her, the girl opened up a little.

"I-I fought at first. But... but after awhile... It hurts less if you don't struggle..."

"I use to ware a cross around my neck. In the beginning, I clutched it in prayer each time, but God never answered me. H-He just let it happen, as if He didn't care. And that man... he laughed at me and said that my god could do nothing..."

"After awhile, things changed. Fear gave way to anger. I hate him. Yet, I wanted to be strong like him. He could... could do such horrible things to me, and I couldn't stop him. I was weak, pathetic. I wanted to be strong. I wanted to be like him. H-he turned me into a monster..."

Each time the girl spoke, Seras listened. She did her best to comfort the girl, to reassure her. She told the girl that she wasn't a monster, yet the fledgling didn't seem able to convince the girl of this. Nor could she offer any satisfying explanation for why the young, devout's prayers had gone unanswered. Still, the girl seemed to calm, and she eventually fell asleep within Seras's arms. The fledgling, herself, followed suit shortly thereafter.

The next evening, Seras got perhaps the biggest shock of her young life as she awoke to the feeling of a small hand gently running through her hair. As Seras started to stir she noticed that the young vampire girl's eyes were glowing red, glowing brightly enough to illuminate her face slightly. And Seras saw that the girl's lips were pulled into a rather uncharacteristic smirk.

"Good morning, Police Girl," the girl cooed in a voice very different from the one she'd used the previous night. But Seras recognized it immediately.

"Master?" she questioned and then repeated it more loudly. "Master?! What... What..."

"You know, you are far too trusting for a vampire, my young fledgling."

"Master... You... I... The girl..." Seras stammered in confusion and then finally exploded. With one quick movement, she threw the top of her coffin open. She climbed out as her chest rose and fell with each labored, enraged, unnecessary breath she took.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!!!" Seras exclaimed as she realized that this 'young vampire girl' was just another of her master's forms, that she'd been duped and her master had used her big heart to do it, that he'd played upon her sympathies as a musician might play a finely tuned violin. How could he?!

"Why teaching you a valuable lesson of course," her master replied as he shadow-shifted out of her coffin and resumed his normal form. "In our world, things are seldom as they seem, and you need to learn to not take anything at face value. Just think of all the ways I could've taken advantage of you this morning... if I'd been so inclined," Alucard continued with a suggestive leer.

"So this was all just to teach me that appearances can be deceiving?!" Seras shouted. She was incensed. Perhaps he had a point about her being too trusting. But still... How could her master be so cruel as to deliver the lesson like... like that?!

Without thinking, Seras reached for the nearest object, a hard-cover-book, and hurled it as hard as she could at her master. "GET OUT!!!" she shouted.

And after letting out an amused sounding grunt, Alucard actually did just that. He left his fledgling to stew in her own juices for awhile. The door was roughly slammed behind him, and Alucard decided that it would be best to leave his fledgling alone until she'd had a chance to calm down.

He hung his head as he walked back to his own chamber and reflected that if his purpose had simply been to teach Seras that appearances could be deceiving, he would've failed miserably. Clearly she hadn't learned that lesson, exploding like that before she stopped and considered everything he'd said the night before. Alucard let out a little sigh, but then decided it was probably for the best. He'd gotten what he wanted... what he needed out of the previous night. And as long as his fledgling remained oblivious, there would be no permanent change in their relationship.

Still... the vampire master couldn't help but feel a little sad as he stepped back into his own, lonely chamber, with nothing to keep him company but his memories and the whispering voices of a few million victims – including one fat, old, perverted sultan; in who's continued torture, the monster took great pleasure and satisfaction.

* * *

(Well, hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought. Thanks.

Have a good day, and God bless.

Metropolis Kid.)


End file.
